Entertainment

'Dark Souls' is monstrously difficult

"Dark Souls II" will challenge even the best of gamers. (Courtesy photo)

'Dark Souls II'

From: Namco Bandai

Rated: T

Who's it for: Hard-core gamers with mad skills and a high frustration threshold

Console: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

Grade: B

It takes a certain sort of gamer to play the "Dark Souls" games. These action/role-playing games revel in their brutal difficulty. They should come with a warning sticker reading, "Abandon all hope ye who enter here."

The design is deliberate. These games are meant to punish anyone who dares challenge them — including the feeling of accomplishment when overcoming a particularly grueling foe.

While remaining true to the spirit of its predecessor, "Dark Souls II" makes a few notable changes for both good and ill. The end result is a game that will please fans while perhaps not completely satisfying them.

The first thing observant players will notice is the game's "T" rating, whereas both "Demon Souls" and the first "Dark Souls" were rated "M." It's rare for a series to take a step back and tone things down to attract a wider audience.

Those who enjoy splattering monster blood across the landscape can rest easy, though: The game in no way seems compromised. It's more like a movie that trimmed that extra four seconds of vitreous to get a PG-13 rating.

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Violence still permeates the game, and players can count on being attacked around every turn — and dying nearly as frequently.

Somehow, these deaths never feel cheap but, rather, are necessary steps toward learning to navigate the world. Those who proceed with patience will find the going a bit easier, but it's impossible, even for the most skilled players, to escape unscathed. Death is merely part of the process.

This in itself doesn't present a problem, but one of the new mechanics associated with death does.

Now, when a player dies, he becomes "Hollow," a body without a spirit. Each time this happens you lose a chunk of your hit points, lowering them as much as 50 percent. This makes continuing your quest that much more difficult.

Additionally, the only way to undo this Hollowing is to find and burn a Human Effigy, a very rare artifact. Doing so will immediately restore your Humanity and your hit point maximum.

In a game as difficult as "Dark Souls II," throwing this penalty on top feels unkind, but that's the way it goes in this nightmarish world.

Also, the game doesn't flow as well as its predecessor. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just different.

The new Fast Travel system is available much earlier in the game, allowing your character to get to and from his bonfire camp much more quickly. It also allows you to get to the hub more quickly when you have collected souls to trade in for much needed upgrades.

Both single- and multiplayer closely resemble the previous game, with players still able to enter the games of others to help or hinder as they see fit.

Also, the roles of Covenants have been expanded, particularly in multiplayer. For instance, joining the "Way of the Blue" Covenant allows you to call other Covenant members to your aid when your world has been invaded, while the "Brotherhood of Blood" lets you invade others' worlds as a Red Spirit.

All of these mechanics would mean little if the world weren't exhilarating.

While feeling somewhat disjointed, every environment feels alive with wonderful details. Even better, the game never suffers from the sort of slowdown that plagued the previous game, no matter how much is happening on the screen at once.

Every foe will task players in new and frightening ways, none more than the boss encounters.

Freja, for example, is a giant spider (why does it always have to be spiders?) that sends swarms of smaller spiders to damage you while you try to sneak an attack past her energy beam. You'll have to deal with her minions before you have an opportunity to destroy her.

"Dark Souls II" will test every skill you've ever developed as a gamer, and it does so with a well-crafted and enticing fantasy world. Those who have the fortitude should definitely give it a play.

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